IS IT TIME TO REBRAND?
Friday, August 17, 2007 is a date that lives in infamy. Seventy-five-year-old MonaShaw of Bristow, Virginia, a retired AirForce nurse, Sunday School teacher, and secretary of her local square dancing club, walked into her local Comcast office. After two long, frustrating weeks dealing with Comcast Customer Service, Mona wasn’t exactly feeling Com-castic. After the cable and phone provider not only failed to deliver on a promise of a ComcastTriplePlay, they also completely disconnected her service. On this visit, Mona brought her husband Don’s claw hammer into the office where she proceeded to get Com-smash-tic. After waiting two hours to speak to a manager, she busted up a Customer Service Rep’s phone and computer. Mona was arrested, charged with a misdemeanor, and released on her own recognizance. A few months later, the judge suspended her three-month sentence and Mona paid a measly $345 restitution. Apparently, the judge was a Comcast customer as well.
I have often said there are only three kinds of brands.
- Brands you know and love. (Apple)
- Brands you know and don’t love. (Comcast)
- Brands you’ve never heard of. (XYZ Plumbing of Mechanicsville)
I am often asked by business owners if they think that rebranding would help. If you’re a #1 brand, there is no need to rebrand. If you’re a #2 brand, then the answer is yes. If you’re a #3 brand, the answer is maybe.
There is a reason why Comcast had to rebrand as Xfinity — and that reason was Mona Shaw. If your company culture and customer service are so undeniably and universally despised that it turns docile septuagenarians into hammer-wielding gangsters and inspires the creation of websites like comcastmustdie.com, maybe it’s time to change your name, your logo, and give your entire brand a makeover.
If you’re a company like Apple, it makes no sense to rebrand. Yet, it happens all the time. BB&T Bank and SunTrust Bank had good brands going into their merger of equals, but apparently, insiders couldn’t figure out which brand they wanted to use so they paid a lot of money to brand consultants and an ad agency to become TruistBank. The sixth-largest bank in the U.S. now has the sixth-worst name in the history of brands.
If you are an emerging company, the question of whether to rebrand is a little trickier. Most emerging companies (i.e. #3 brands) have good reputations but low brand awareness. The solution isn’t necessarily creating a new brand that no one has ever heard of. In many cases, you can solve a brand awareness issue without having to change signage, business cards, and all the other creative collateral.
In fact, half of the companies that come to us wanting to rebrand end up keeping their original brand, after listening to our advice. Imagine that. We do the research and we give them an honest assessment, even if that means less work and less money for us. #BoldBrandsWin
MONDAY:
PICTURE PERFECT
Hats off to our multi-talented Sr. Art Director Carissa Ghaffari for taking some awesome new headshots of Director of Business & Marketing Leanne Ferry Pillow, Copywriter Derek Fair, and Account Executive Marita Cardenas this week. Of course, she had some really good lookin’ models to work with! For the record, Carissa has refused to take a new picture of me. Apparently, it is incredibly difficult to Photoshop out a double chin.
TUESDAY:
LET’S GET SOCIAL
Looking for some new friends on social media? Follow our client Chesapeake Economic Development on Instagram to stay up to date on everything happenin’ in their happenin’ city. Our Copywriters and Graphic Designers really Liked working on their content this week so check them out on social for some eye-catching designs during your mid-day scroll.
WEDNESDAY:
INSIDE OUT
This Question Wednesday, Client Services Manager Katie Rossberg asked our entire team “Which emotion drives your day-to-day?” The question stemmed from the movie Inside Out, where protagonist Riley is guided by her emotions – Sadness, Joy, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. After a long, inspiring speech to my team about overcoming your fears, I was rewarded by finding out that most of the Madison+Main-iacs are driven by joy in their day-to-day activities — with a little sadness thrown in whenever I take a day off. Email me what drives you — joy, fear, anger, disgust, or sadness.
THURSDAY:
HATS OFF TO HATTIE
August 12, 1998 is a day that will ALSO live in infamy. My sweet baby girl Harriet “Hattie” Saunders was born at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Culver City, California. On Thursday, we celebrated her 23rd birthday. I am so proud of this multi-talented singer/songwriter/music educator/social media guru. Hattie will be student-teaching this fall at Cosby High School and Winterpock Elementary in Chesterfield County. We celebrated the anniversary of her birth with her favorite beverage, Bold Rock Cider.
FRIDAY:
EVENTFUL CALENDAR
On Friday, the team got together to start planning our next company retreat and holiday party. Let me give you some advice, people. You need to book your holiday party now because event space is already filling up for December. Here are two more bits of advice. Our clients Atlas 42 and COMPASS Entertainment Complex are both accepting reservations for holiday events and corporate retreats. If you’re in the Richmond area, check out Atlas 42, in the heart of Innsbrook. If you are down in the River Realm, a.k.a the Northern Neck or Middle Peninsula, give the friendly folks at COMPASS a call.
A FEW OF OUR CLIENT JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Lucy Corr
Chesterfield, Virginia
Join the Lucy Corr team! Their vibrant retirement community is searching for friendly and dedicated workers to fill a variety of roles.
- Concierge
- Dining Services
- Environmental Services
- Information Technology
- Nursing (Assisted Living)
- Nursing (Health Care Center)
The Doorways
Richmond, Virginia
Help support families in Richmond who are experiencing a medical crisis. As the second-largest hospitality house in the country, The Doorways is growing its team to make huge differences.
- Facilities Maintenance Technician
- Front Desk Agent
A. Smith Bowman Distillery
Fredericksburg, Virginia
As a small and privately-owned company, A. Smith Bowman Distillery continues the time-honored traditions on which it was founded. Considered a micro-distillery by today’s standards, A. Smith Bowman Distillery produces an assortment of hand-crafted spirits. Join their team today!
- Distillery Tour Guide
Got an upcoming event you want to share? Can we come? Send us the deets!
“When things are bad it’s the best time to reinvent yourself.” — George Lopez